1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to weatherstrips for vehicle closures and more particularly to a weatherstrip for providing a seal between a roof side rail and a slidable window glass of a hardtop type vehicle door.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An example of a prior art weatherstrip of the above described kind is shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. Referring to the figures, a door 10 of a hardtop type vehicle has a sashless or frameless window opening 12 which is opened and closed by a slidable window or window glass 14. A roof side rail 16 of the vehicle is adapted to serve as a frame for the window opening 12 and consists of an outer roof side rail 16a and an inner roof side rail 16b which are joined together to form a closed roof side rail configuration.
A drip channel 18 is secured to the outer roof side rail 16a, and a retainer 20 having channel-shaped inner and outer end portions 20a, 20b is secured with screws 22 to the roof side rail outer 16a. A weatherstrip 24 made of sponge rubber is attached to the retainer 20 to provide a seal between the roof side rail 16 and the peripheral edge of the window glass 14. The weatherstrip 24 consists of a mounting base 24a and a seal lip 24b spanning between the opposite inner and outer ends of the mounting base 24a and cooperating with the mounting base 24a to form a hollow weatherstrip configuration so that, when the door 10 is swung closed and the window glass 14 is slid up to its closed position, the peripheral edge of the window glass 14 is brought into contact with the resilient seal lip 24b to provide a seal between the inside and outside of a vehicle cabin 26.
The weatherstrip 24 is provided with a glass holder 24c for preventing outward movement of the window glass 14 when the window glass 14 is urged outward (in the direction indicated by the arrow F) due to a pressure differential between the inside and outside of the vehicle cabin 26 during high-speed running of the vehicle. The glass holder 24c is made of a hard synthetic resinous material and formed integral with the mounting base 24a and the seal lip 24b, i.e., joined with the mounting base 24a and the seal lip 24b so as to form an integral unit therewith.
A disadvantage of the above described prior art weatherstrip is that since the glass holder 24c is hung at its upper end on the channel-shaped outer end portion 20b of the retainer 20, i.e., supported on the outer end portion 20b in a manner of a so-called cantilever, the glass holder 24c is liable to swing outward as represented by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6 when the window glass 14 is urged outward. Since such swing allows the window glass 14 to move outward, the glass holder 24c cannot prevent the outward movement of the window glass 14 sufficiently and desirably.
Another disadvantage is that the repeated opening and closing of the door 10 (the peripheral edge of the window glass 14 follows a path as indicated by the line X--X in FIG. 5 upon opening and closing of the door 10) in a long period of usage is liable to cause a crack or cracks of the weatherstrip 24 in or adjacent the place where the glass holder 24c is joined with the mounting base 24a and the seal lip 24b, making it impossible to provide an assured and reliable seal.